The Stem Cell Ethics Center

In many ways, stem cell research is an emblematic issue for our new century. Developments in stem cell science provide an excellent view into complex ethical, cultural, social, political, and economic issues that will face our students, both as scholars and citizens.

In many ways, stem cell research is an emblematic issue for our new century. It holds the promise (and false promise) and dangers (and exaggerated dangers) of a cutting-edge medical science that is rapidly gaining a heretofore unimagined understanding and control of human embryonic and cellular development. It offers the promise of cures, but also concerns about potential danger to and even exploitation of human research subjects. It raises religious and cultural issues that can be politically controversial. And, it brings to the fore concerns about justice—i.e., that the promises of this new technology may only be available to wealthy individuals or nations at the expense of those less financially secure. In this sense, developments in stem cell science provide an excellent view into complex ethical, cultural, social, political, and economic issues that will face our students, both as scholars and citizens.

The CWRU Stem Cell Ethics Center serves as a focal point for campus-wide and international interdisciplinary scholarship and research. Housed in the Department of Bioethics, the Stem Cell Ethics Center provides an avenue to educate policy makers, regulators, and the general public about all forms of stem cell research and their translation to clinical practice. The Stem Cell Ethics Center bridges ethics and biotechnology by providing ethical and technical support, as well as a forum for directed application of stem cell ethics in the complex array of cultural, social, political, and economic issues.

The above stem cell picture is made available courtesy of Willy Lensch, Children's Hospital Boston.